Brothers and Sisters in ChristByDiane M. HoudekSource:Bringing Home the WordPublished:Sunday, December 30, 2012

One of the stories nearly everyone
knows about St. Francis is that he
publicly and dramatically rejected his
father, Pietro, in order to follow his
call from God. In this, as in so many
other things, he is following Christ,
who said that anyone who did not
leave mother and father, sisters and
brothers, to follow him was not
worthy to be called a disciple.
We struggle with this part of the
Gospel in different ways throughout
our lives. As young people, we might
embrace a sense of freedom from
our families. As parents, however,
we might be reluctant to let our
children go.

In his Testament, written a year or
two before his death, Francis tells
the story of his call. And in his
words, we see the promise of Christ
once again coming to fulfillment.
Francis has left mother, father, sisters
and brothers. And then he tells us
that at the very beginning of his new
life, “the Lord gave me brothers.”

Even as we celebrate the Feast of
the Holy Family and continue our
Christmas festivities with our own
families, we know that as Christians,
we have been given mothers and
fathers, sisters and brothers, in a
communion that extends far beyond
the ties of biology. This is the promise
of the Good News.